Last week, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) admitted that a leaked nude photo and text message were his and, according to Barton, the result of “consensual” relationships with multiple women. Barton reportedly had “arrangements” with several women and threatened to call the Capitol Police on one if she exposed his behavior. It’s a truly messy situation, so it should not come as much of a surprise that Barton has announced he will not seek re-election for an 18th House of Representatives term in 2018.

“I’ve always listened to people in Texas and worked for them in Washington, and I’ve been listening to a lot of people the last week in Texas,” Barton said. “…There are enough people who lost faith in me that it’s time to step aside and let there be a new voice for the 6th district in Washington, so I am not going to run for re-election.”

Barton said he believes he still has the support of much of his district, and could likely win, if he ran. “But it would be a nasty campaign, a difficult campaign for my family,” he said.

His 12-year-old son Jack asked him not to run, he told The News. When he asked why, Jack told him: “Well you’ve done a lot of good. You have a good record, and you don’t need to keeping running to prove that,” he said.

Barton, who said that he made his decision based upon pressure from other Republicans, described his behavior as having happened in the past. He added, “I’m ashamed about that. But that period of my life is over.”